Ch. 48
Selene turned the corner, intending to go back to the VIP room, when she almost bumped into two familiar figures. Her father and grandfather, both accompanied by several board members, were already on their way out.
"Selene," her grandfather greeted with a teasing tone, eyes softening the moment he saw her.
"Done stretching your legs?"
Selene gave a small smile, hands behind her back.
"Uh, yeah. It was... kind of fun."
"You really can't sit still even during lunch, huh?" Her father chuckled.
"Well, are you all heading home?" she asked politely, her voice calm and sweet.
"Yes," her grandfather replied.
"Your father still has meetings, and I'm going home to rest. Are you coming with me, my dear? Or do you still have somewhere else to go?"
"I'll go home with you," she said, her tone soft, composed.
But before her grandfather could reply, the sound of hurried footsteps and loud chatter echoed from behind.
The group from the other room suddenly burst out, laughter and perfume filling the corridor.
At the center of it was her, the impostor.
The girl's chestnut hair gleamed under the restaurant lights, her designer clothes screaming for attention.
The impostor's gaze caught Selene's, and her smirk widened. Still unaware she was standing before the real Selene Valen, she scoffed loudly.
"You're that girl from earlier." Her voice dripped with arrogance.
"You know her Selene?" The other woman asked.
"Oh, not much. I only met her at our company lounge. I think, she's a delivery girl." She said mockingly, that earn snickers from the other guys.
"What are you doing here?" The imposter asked, and also noticed a group of elders behind Selene.
"Meeting with a lot of old men? What are you, a hooker?" She said teasingly with a hint of sarcasm.
Gasps immediately filled the corridor.
The old men behind Selene's father stiffened, murmurs rippling through the group.
"What did that girl just say—?"
"Did she just call the chairman's granddaughter—?"
Selene's father's eyes darkened in fury, but before he could speak, Selene lifted a hand... a subtle gesture that made him pause. Her lips curved into a slow, dangerous smile.
Oh, this is interesting.
She could have ignored the impostor– really, she wanted to.
But then... she heard it.
That word.
Suddenly, the woman from the police station from before looked like the imposter right now.
For a moment, the hall seemed to still.
Selene took one graceful step forward, the soft click of her heels echoing like a warning.
"Hooker?" she repeated softly, her tone almost amused.
"Is that what you think of me?"
The impostor faltered slightly under her gaze. But pride and ignorance kept her chin raised.
"Well, I mean... it looks like it," she said with a fake laugh, glancing around for support.
"I mean, you don't even belong in this kind of place, do you?" Selene chuckled lightly.
"Oh? And what makes you think you do?"
"E–excuse me?" The impostor blinked.
Selene tilted her head slightly, eyes glinting with amusement.
Why am I even here? Arguing with cheap people? she thought, suppressing a sigh.
Totally cheap.
Then it hit her.
Right, Selene Valen was supposed to be the villainess. The elegant, untouchable woman everyone feared to cross.
Her lips curved into a slow, dangerous smile.
Should I try it? she mused. After all, this imposter is nothing like me— she's not even close to my league.
Selene didn't really want to be cruel. It wasn't her nature. But the girl's arrogance... it practically invited her to play the part.
If this was a stage, then fine! She'd give them the performance they deserved.
She smirked, eyes gleaming like cold glass, completely at ease as chaos began to unfold around her. After all, she thought, a villainess should know how to enjoy her own scene.
"Your perfume," she said smoothly. "Cheap imitation. And that bag? Last season's counterfeit. The real one doesn't have stitching that uneven."
A few of the women in the impostor's group exchanged uneasy glances. Selene took another step closer. Her presence, calm yet suffocating, filled the space.
"Next time you want to act high-class, dear, make sure you know what elegance looks like."
The impostor's face turned pale, her hands curling into fists. Her confidence cracked.
"W–Who do you think you are to talk to me like that!?"
Selene's smile turned razor-sharp.
"Who am I?" Selene echoed softly, tilting her head just slightly her tone smooth as silk yet cold as winter.
Her eyes glimmered with dangerous calm.
"The one person you should've never pretended to be."
The girl froze, her breath catching in her throat. There's something about Selene's voice that had a quiet authority, that made the air feel heavier. Her so-called friends glanced at each other, whispering nervously.
"Wait, what is she saying, Selene?"
"What the heck, you're making Selene uncomfortable!"
Selene blinked lazily, her expression unreadable.
"Are you talking about me?" she asked the other woman in a bored tone.
"What?" the woman looked confused, turning to the imposter.
The fake Selene nearly choked, panic flashing across her face.
"You! You're going to regret this! I'll call my father! Don't you even know who my father is? He's the president of Valeinne Enterprises!"
Selene raised a perfectly arched brow, the corner of her lips curling into a smirk.
"Oops, I'm terrified," she drawled mockingly. "Go ahead, call your dad. I'd love to see if that man's even half as handsome as my father—"
She casually pointed toward her father, who was watching with an unimpressed expression and a single raised eyebrow. Behind them, her grandfather chuckled, shaking his head.
"I'd like to see him too..."
That earned a few restrained laughs from the older board members nearby, though they quickly covered their mouths, pretending to cough.
The girl's face turned red with embarrassment but she stubbornly pulled out her phone. Her hands trembled slightly as she dialed, pretending confidence.
"Daddy, can you come here? At *** restaurant someone's bullying me! I'm getting uncomfortable!"
On the other line came a deep voice.
"What? Fine, wait for me. Don't make a scene."
She hung up with a triumphant grin, glancing smugly at Selene.
"Oh, you're so going to regret this."
"We'll see." Selene just smiled sweetly.
Minutes later, the restaurant doors opened.
A man in his late forties rushed inside, wearing a neatly pressed suit. He looked ready to scold someone not until his gaze fell behind Selene.
And then, his entire expression crumbled.
"...Chairman Valen? P-President?" he stammered, voice shaking.
"Daddy?" The fake Selene blinked in confusion.
The man froze on the spot. His blood ran cold when his eyes met the real Selene's—calm, elegant, eyes like sharpened glass.
Oh no.
He recognized her instantly, the unmistakable resemblance to the President himself. Even in simple clothes, Selene Valen carried the same aura of quiet authority that her father did.
The man swallowed hard, realizing what this meant.
His entire career... gone in an instant.
Selene's father's face darkened. His secretary stepped forward, leaning close enough to whisper but his words carried clearly through the silence.
"President... he's one of the senior finance supervisors in the company."
The room fell utterly silent.
The fake Selene's confident smirk vanished. Even the color drained from her face as realization hit.
Selene, on the other hand, only smiled faintly tilting her head again, her voice soft but dripping with irony.
"Oh. So that's your father?" she said coolly, eyes flickering between the terrified man and the imposter.
"What a small world."
"Well, I suppose the world isn't that small after all~ just full of fools pretending to be Valens." Her grandfather chuckled behind her.
The board members tried to stifle their laughter. And for the first time, the fake heiress wished the ground would swallow her whole.